To achieve the climate goals, we need to design an economy in which products and raw materials are used and reused for as long as possible. The circular economy takes into account the entire life cycle of raw materials and products – design, production, use and reuse. Companies design products so that they last as long as possible and are used efficiently. At the end of their service life, their components can be recycled and used as raw materials for new products. Materials such as wood, steel, aluminium or glass can be replaced by raw materials from the Circular Economy. Materials hitherto regarded as waste from production flow into new goods as materials and emissions drop to zero. These are the essential facets of a new ecological way of life, for us and for the planet.

The economic potential

This far-reaching renewal of the economy undoubtedly represents one of the greatest challenges of our time. But we are confident that we will succeed in this transformation. Not only because it must succeed, but also because innovative economic activity in closed cycles offers an enormous economic opportunity for the long-term global success of German companies.

Global demand for conventional raw materials will continue to increase and drive up the price of natural raw materials. The more German industry reduces its dependence on these raw materials in the future, the more successful it will be in international competition. On the one hand, it will be able to offer its ecological knowhow and the technologies needed for regenerative manufacturing processes on the global market. On the other hand, a reduced reliance on the import of natural raw materials will increase domestic value creation. Taken together, this will create jobs and foster prosperity in Germany.

Shaping the transformation

In other words: sustainability and growth are not contradictory, they are mutually dependent. What is ecologically necessary today will benefit us economically tomorrow. Doesn't all this sound a bit too good to be true? Can we really combine the best of both worlds in a circular economy? We certainly can! But we can't do it alone. Putting a circular economic model into practice requires us to work towards this goal in partnership with political and social forces.

Germany has all the prerequisites for the success of a circular economy. Now it is up to us to make this transformation our top priority. We need to agree on how society and the economy, and businesses among themselves, can work even more closely together to successfully navigate this common path to a climate-neutral future. Above all, attention should be focused on which political and economic instruments we can best use to support these developments.

• How can we transfer innovation processes triggered by sustainability in decarbonisation, in the regenerative use of materials and in creative recycling to new business models and markets?
• Can the circular potential of products be promoted through common standards in design and raw material extraction?
• Can we improve the market opportunities for sustainable raw materials from the Circular Economy by designing Europe-wide quality standards and raw material markets?
• What incentives and guarantees could encourage companies to take on the high costs and risks of innovation and conversion?

There are different ideas about how to achieve a climate-neutral future. For us, this diversity is the best breeding ground for potent ideas and innovative approaches to solutions enabling us to create new foundations for sustainable coexistence.